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Is that Ol' Saint Nick approaching by boat? Several California cities welcome Mr. Claus in an oh-so-Golden-State-y fashion.

GOLDEN STATE QUINTESSENTIAL: A certain toymaker of elfly talents, a man who resides in a very northerly clime, has a propensity for the Big Arrival. Save when he's silently scooting down chimneys and leaving gifts, Santa Claus is not content with the quiet entrance. His public appearances tend to come with much splash and dash, some live music, possibly a red carpet, and, frequently, a plush velvet throne that seems to have been dipped in gold (or something like gold). In colder locations, he'll sometimes pull up to an event via sled or snowmobile, but in California? It's all about the famous icon showing up via the water. That water's very typically the Pacific Ocean, though there are a few exceptions. But the upshot? Santa's wave-based arrival is Golden State Quintessential. Here's where the man in the shiny buckle is grand-entrancing via the H20 in the weeks ahead...

SAN DIEGO: Surfin' San Diego makes his Saturday, Nov. 29 Seaport Village entrance via, you got it, "special water craft." Nope, he won't be rocking his red winter outerwear, but something from the board shorts/Hawaiian shirt end of his closet. (Santa so has summer wear; we just never see it.)

CAPITOLA: We so often hear the details on Santa's reindeer-pulled sleigh -- the size, the specs, its in-the-air speed, that it is roomy enough for sacks and sacks of toys -- but we don't always hear about Mr. Kringle's personal outrigger canoe. And yet that's his chosen mode for his yearly arrival on Capitola Beach, so watch for the main man, and his team of oar buddies, on Saturday, Nov. 29.

PETALUMA: Where does The Jolly Ol' Elf arrive by riverboat? In the Egg Basket of the World. It's a charmer -- his boat is festively be-bow'd and be-swag'd -- and it happens on Saturday, Nov. 29. (We know, Santa's showing everywhere on Nov. 29, but forget not this true thing: He's magic.)

NICK'S COVE: Santa Claus hearts the beautiful Tomales Bay, as we all do. He'll show at the water-close destination -- show by "water sleigh," natch -- on Sunday, Dec. 7. Seasonal sips and oysters are on the merry menu, oh yes they are. If only Santa arrived by water everywhere, instead of air (though that seems to work out for him, too).